When the Sun Rises Again
by eaglenation
Summary: Ashpelt has always loved Thrushfeather, but she never returned his love. When the battle with TigerClan draws nearer, Ashpelt sees the chance of winning Thrushfeather's love. A one-shot, my first BlossomClan challenge. Rated K plus for violence. Please review!


**Okay! This is my first challenge for BlossomClan! Enjoy!  
**  
His name was Ashpelt. He was a strong tom, black and grey, with a handsome face and large paws. He was a swift hunter, and he loved Clan life. He was a WindClan tom, though not the swiftest runner, he was skilled at hunting rabbits. And he loved a she-cat, Thrushfeather. Though she did not return his love, he still hoped to get her. The Clan was thriving, and Ashpelt was happy. One day, they sat together on the field after a patrol, gazing up at the setting sun.  
"Ashpelt?" Thrushfeather asked.  
"What?" Ashpelt felt his hear flutter.  
"Do you believe in StarClan?" It was a strange question.  
"I think so." Ashpelt answered thoughtfully. "I believe they watch over us. Though if they have the power of the stars, I doubt."  
"I think you're right." Thrushfeather answered him. "What do you believe in?" Ashpelt asked.  
"I believe in the Clans." Thrushfeather answered. "I believe if united, we can break through any storm."  
Ashpelt purred with amusement. "That sounds like a prophecy."  
Thrushfeather's eyes twinkled like the stars. "I wonder if it's true.  
"We are united. We are one." Ashpelt confirmed. "Like the night and the moon. One does not go without the other."  
A darkest of times then came upon the Clans. The camp had been attacked, an apprentice killed as a show of strength. A battle was drawing nearer as the TigerClan closed its ranks, becoming a bigger threat by the second. So LionClan came about, a collection of the cats who could still see the light in the world. It was composed of two clans, ThunderClan and WindClan, and lead by Firestar and Tallstar. The battle was inevitable, both leaders knew. And there were small chances of survival.  
So the day came. Ashpelt and Thrushfeather stood side by side at fourtrees as the TigerClan closed in. For a second, they thought they had a chance. But then Tigerstar, leader of TigerClan, brought forth an army of massive cats, vicious and blood-seeking. They were those cats that would never find the light, no matter how hard they looked. They were the BloodClan, but they were not really a Clan. They respected no warrior code and took no warrior names. They were named so just to seem fierce. And so they were.  
Thrushfeather trembled against Ashpelt's side. He tried to comfort her, but he was almost as afraid. They watched in silence as Tigerstar and Scourge, leaders of TigerClan and BloodClan, faced off in a quarrel. And in a single pawswipe, the most feared and powerful tom in all the Clans, Tigerstar, was killed, nine times.  
Thrushfeather whimpered. Ashpelt felt powerless as BloodClan advanced, and in a short matter of time, the Clans were in chaos. Ashpelt was separated from his beloved. This fueled his claw swipes, as he brought down BloodClan soldier after BloodClan soldier. He fought with all his might, and slowly ran out of energy. As he stopped for a single moment, Ashpelt saw as a giant cat killed two Clan cats in a row. The cat turned its head and was Ashpelt, tired and panting, blood flowing from wounds across his flank. Suddenly, he was cornered by this massive black-and-white she-cat. Her form blocked out the sun and sent fear racing through Ashpelt's blood.  
"Well, well. Look here. A puny Clan cat." The she-cat hissed. "Come here so I can ruin that handsome face of yours."  
"Never. Tell me your name, so I can know which one of you traitors I destroy."  
"The name is Bonfire." The she-cat hissed. "Daughter of Bone."  
This made Ashpelt back up. "B-bone?" The second-hand lieutenant of Scourge.  
"Yes, B-Bone." The she-cat mocked. Ashpelt hissed. Bending back on his haunches, he sprung at the she-cat, claws outstretched. Instead of sucking, Bonfire caught him out of the air and brought him to the ground. Star showed before Ashpelt's eyes as he was pounded against the ground like a kit. Claws dug into his pelt, claws enforced by dogs teeth. But Ashpelt did not give up. He bit the paw, and Bonfire let go with a screech. Ashpelt flung himself back at the she-cat, and this time landed on her head, pinning her down to the ground. He ran his claws along her back, relishing her screeches of terror.  
"You…..think that puny attack…..will stop me?" Bonfire hissed.  
"Yes." Ashpelt replied, thinking of the two cats she had killed with so little as a blink. "For my Clanmates."  
The she-cat snickered. "You are nothing! Just something to sharpen my claws on." With a single movement, Ashpelt was sent flying against a tree. He hit it with a great force, and fell on the ground. Something was wrong with his paw. It refused to move. He trembled in terror as the she-cat closed in, pawstep by pawstep. Ashpelt closed his eyes. Suddenly, a massive white shape barreled into Bonfire, throwing her to the ground. Terror closed in on Ashpelt as he caught sight of the cats face. His beloved.  
"Thrushfeather! No!" He hissed, afraid. It was the worst thing he could have done. Bonfire turned her hideous face to Ashpelt with a sneer. "Oh. Is this your mate?"  
"She is not my mate!"  
"Well then. Watch her die."  
Ashpelt tried to struggle to his feet, but he could not move. All he could do was watch as Bonfire pinned Thrushfeather to the ground, and neared her fangs to his beloved's throat. With a single burst of energy, as if his paws were propelled by StarClan, Ashpelt barreled between them, and sent Bonfire flying. Bonfire crashed backwards, and Ashpelt took the moment to sink his teeth into the windpipe, crushing it. Gasping for air, Bonfire, in one last desperate attempt, swung her claw. Ashpelt tried to dodge it, but his bad leg buckled beneath him, and a crimson gash was torn from into his stomach. Thrushfeather cried out. As the light died from the BloodClan she-cat's eyes, so did the light from the WindClan toms. Regret and sorrow welled over Thrushfeather as she bent her nose over the dying tom who had loved her. Why could she have never shown him her gratitude before. She had not realised he would die for her. Ashpelt struggled for breath.  
"It's my fault!" Thrushfeather wept.  
"No, it is not. This is the way…..the way I wanted to die…thank you…."  
"I really loved you! I just wish….." Thrushfeather screeched.  
"No…..I understand. It was never meant to be…"  
"It's my fault…..don't go!" Thrushfeather screamed.  
"No. It is my fault I didn't realise earlier. This was my….destin….."  
Thrushfeather screamed in frustration as Ashpelt's soul left his body for StarClan. In all her rage, Thrushfeather became a glorious fighter. She rampaged through the BloodClan ranks like a wildcat, killing every cat that crossed her path. And when the battle died down, LionClan was vicorious, and Thrushfeather lay, wounded, surrounded by dead BloodClan cats. For her love and for her Clan, and for the stars above, Thrushfeather had won the battle for Ashpelt, the tom she had never known she loved until it was too late.

Peace slowly returned, as peace does. And in the WindClan camp, new life came about. In the nursery den, Thrushfeather gave birth to kits. They were not Ashpelt's kits, but the kits of another tom, Rabbitstorm, the mate she had chosen after she had forgotten her grief. But as she stared, wonderous, one of the kits moved. And he was a mirror image of Ashpelt. So Thrushfeather named him so, Ashkit, and she knew that Ashpelt's soul lived within the kit. The two other kits were named Sunkit, after the sun that had shone on the Clans after the battle, and Stormkit, after the storm the Clans defeated when united, like she had told Ashpelt on that hill all those moons before.


End file.
